The days here have gone so quickly....cannot believe that it is already nearly time to head south.
It has been so nice spending time here with Joan and Tom in Bellefonte Pa. It is always fun to spend time to see Joan's family and all the grand-kids. We also have been spending lots of time on their new porch as the days have been nearly perfect. We were able to visit Maryann's Aunt Liz and her son Chris on a trip to Karthaus too. AND also stopped and talked with one of Maryann's Dad's good friends. Carrie and Emme joined us for a week over the 4th of July. Emme enjoyed seeing and playing with her Pennsylvania cousins. Also was able to go to the creek and feed the ducks and fish with her cousin Madison. She had fun walking around the Arbitorium at Pennsylvania State University. Of course we enjoyed the 4th of July celebration at Rosanne and Jeff's (Joan's daughter) with family during the all day fun, great food and watching the Penn State Fireworks show. After we said farewell to Carrie and Emme, Joan and Tom and us took a couple days off to travel. We went to The UTZ Potato Chip Factory in Hanover, Pa.and Martin Potatoe Chip factory in Thomasville, Pa. Then on to Turkey Hill Ice Cream Brand Experience where we were able to make our own flavor of Ice Cream. Then stopped in Lancaster for the night. We had a great dinner at the Fireside Inn and then our dear friends , Peggy and Larry Reinhart joined us on our hotel patio catching up. The next morning Tom and Joan and us went to Pottsville, Pa. to the Yuengling Brewery. It is the oldest brewery in the United States. We took a fun tour through the brewery and of course there were samples at the end of the tour. We were going to stop at the "Ringing Rocks" park but the road was closed. On the way back to Bellefonte, we stopped at the Russell Stover Candy Outlet! During our days with Joan and Tom, we took rides into areas we had not been or had not been in years, played cards and went out to eat with Joan and Tom and Sonja and Ray( Rosanne's in-laws), attended birthday celebrations for Jeff and Sonja, visited a few times with Janet and Dick in Karthaus, saw Linda and Wayne (friend from high school) , Aunts and cousins that live in the local area. OF COURSE, Joan and her Tom cooked us great food and baked foods. Also had fresh vegetables from their garden and also from the Amish farms. We also attended a fun local festival. Tom's sister , Charlotte and her husband , Bill arrived in Bellefonte to spend a few days with us before we all headed back to Florida together. When we went to Harrisburg to pick them up, we stopped and visited with Aunt Ethel and Aunt Fran who live in the area. It is always good to give them a hug. Also got to see Maryann's cousin Diane this time too. We took them to Shanksville Flight 93 National Memorial. Tom and I have been to the Memorial for the 911 Flight 93 three times now and each time as we step on the grounds we feel such profound sadness. What heros the passengers and flight crews were and we should never forget.
We left Bellefonte on the 19th of June . We made a quick stop in Harrisburg at Aunt Fran's as forgot to get our yearly picture together!! We also stopped and had lunch at a neat little restaurant in Middletown, PA (Brownstone Cafe)where Tom had left his sunglasses when we ate there when picked up Charlotte and Bill when they arrived in PA. Their food was great. The Cafe had been an old bank built in the 1800's. We stopped in Lancaster for a couple days so Bill and Charlotte could see some Amish history and way of life. The best part of staying in Lancaster was the time we spent with Peggy and Larry and family. Peggy prepared us great lunches and dinners.
We all went to a Amish run restaurant too...the food was plentiful and fresh vegetables and homemade rolls were so
good. The Meatloaf seemed to be the favorite!! Tom spent a day as tour director taking Bill and Beth to a traditional Amish Farm and some of the sights around the area. He also stopped by Fillmore Containers that is owned by Keith and Lisa Reinhart (Peggy and Larry's son and his wife) and Larry gave them a nice tour. Maryann was able to spend an entire day with my dear Peggy ( Peggy and Maryann met in Nursing School in
Washington D. C. In 1966 and they have been our family ever since). One evening we went to check out Keith and Lisa's Lampeter Cafe that should be open in September 2017. It is a building that was built around 1760 and Lisa and Keith have been working on the restoration for nearly 4-5 years. Keith gave us a personal tour and we got to see Brandon and Elizabeth, two of their children. What an amazing renovation....wished we lived closer as certainly would be frequent guests!
We left Lancaster on the 26th of July and arrived at Annapolis, Maryland. On Thursday, we had lunch with Jim and Cindy Roudebush at a great little crab restaurant by the water. No matter the time between our visits with Jim and Cindy, it is just like a pause in our conversations. We are so blessed to have them in our "family".
We drove just a few miles down the road to Fort Meyer and will be here for the next three days. We went to Arlington National Cemetery yesterday and spent the afternoon. Always such an honor to go to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to pay respect.
Tom, Charlotte and Bill went into D.C and went to the Museums of Natural History and American History Museum.
Today they went to the Air and Space Museum and National Museum of the American Indian.
Tomorrow we will leave and start our trip to Florida..which should take us a few days. It has been so nice traveling with Charlotte and Bill.
Will be in Florida a few weeks with them and spend time with Kelly and Bryan and girls. Are getting anxious to see Molly, Samantha and Kirsten to spend time with them before they start school at their new schools in Florida.
We will head back to Tucson after spending a few weeks with them and Charlotte and Bill.
We are so blessed to have been able to spend time with our family and family friends in the past several weeks.
Sending thoughts and prayers to you all.
~ "Once a year, go someplace you have never been before" ~. Anonymous
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
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